The Curse of Unemployment 1936

Friedolin Kessler made this black ink print, 'The Curse of Unemployment' sometime in the 20th century. Just imagine the artist's hand, carefully carving away at the block, each line a deliberate cut, a whisper or shout against the pressures of his time. I feel for Kessler, I can almost see him, sleeves rolled up, brow furrowed, as he painstakingly chipped away at the wood, maybe even muttering to himself. The texture is amazing, so rough and immediate, but the message is so pointed. The figure looms large with ‘YOUTH ARRESTED’ above its head, while a skeleton plays the fiddle above two figures teetering on a sign that says ‘NO JOB OPEN’. You know, art is like a conversation across time, and I wonder what Käthe Kollwitz might have thought of this? Her work also reflects such a deep sense of social consciousness, even though the images are very different. Ultimately, art is about exchange, a give-and-take of ideas, and Kessler's work reminds us that artists are always in dialogue with each other.